Fields of the Invention
The disclosure as detailed herein is in the technical field of prototyping. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to the technical field of manufacturing. Even more specifically, the present disclosure relates to the technical field of modular fabrication tables.
Description of Related Art
Tables are commonly found in laboratories. They have to be sturdy and multiuse and, therefore, are usually fixed as part of a structure and immobile. Further, laboratory tables often have very heavy-duty countertops using such materials as soapstone. This causes laboratory tables to be difficult to setup in the manner that are needed for specific experiments, as they are fixed into place and are immobile. Further, due to their heavy weight, it is not easy to move laboratory tables into new configurations.
Fabricators are people who need to have a wide variety of arrangements and configurations to hold pieces they are assembling. Therefore, tables need to be both mobile but firm and need to accommodate specific spaces in a work area. These tables need to be flat, level, and square and able to hold components of a work piece in particular configurations. Existing tables in fabrication shops are often not adaptable and clamp locations are usually limited to the periphery. Fabricators often need to design configurations around the existing tables that they have, which usually takes a lot of time. Further, different work pieces often require different anchoring strengths for accurate positioning. In addition, safety is a big concern with setting up or working on one or more work pieces. A further consideration for a fabrication table is they often need to have surfaces of different materials that are compatible with the work pieces that are being worked on.
They may also need to have means for bolting in both an upwards and downwards perpendicular plane for configuration of work pieces. Further, it may also be desirable to have a means to configure a production or prototype the area to particular needs for particular products. Existing modular fabrication tables are often prohibitively expensive and require specific compatible clamps that must be purchased. In summary, fabrication prototypers often have work spaces that have limited surface area and use tables that are not for the purposes of fabrication. Tables that are used can be immobile or too mobile and, thus, give out under stress. Further, fabrication tables can be out of level, out of square, and have irregular surface structure. The non-adaptability of tables in a fabrication shop often cost money, because setting up configurations is time consuming and requires a great deal of creativity.